Cover panels for vehicles, especially railway cars



A. G. DEAN April 15, 1952 COVER PANELS FOR VEHICLES, ESPECIALLY RAILWAY CARS Filed 001;. 24, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET l AAIlIIIIl,

INVNTOR f-@lberr Cf. Beam. BY @ad A TTORNE Y L NVENOR Qlbe CIA Deum 2 SHEETS-Smm 2 IGS A. G. DEAN COVER PANELS FOR VEHICLES, ESPECIALLY RAILWAY CARS JfIG/Z April 15, 1952 Filed oct. 24, 1947 BVM c? ATTORNEY Patented Apr. l5, 1952 GOVERPNELS LFOR VEHICLES, ESPECIALLY RAILWAY CARS Albert G. Dean, IiNarherth, JBa., assigner 'Lto The :Budd i(ompazmn Philadelphia, Pa., =a ficorpora- .tion` of 4 l?.ennsylvania ApplcationOcvto'ber 24, 1947, "Serial No.: 7823000 7f0laims. 'l The invention relates to lbodies of vehicles, especially of Irailway fear-s, `'and' lmore speciiically to^outers`hear panels fand cover panelinglfor the side walls of-such bodies.

-An object ci fthe `invention is to provide a l `vehicle Ybody 'having a simple, light-*weight construction.

`lAnother object fof the 'invention isto provide an-'outerfshear panel for vehicle body side walls ywhich kaiiordsta pleasant `appearance even vwhen f used without decorative lcover paneling.

A still further object of the'finvention .is to provide a'shearpanelffor:vehiclebody side walls which lends itself to the 'easy 'attachment 4of filuted or other decorative l'cover 'panelin'g rand 'ivhiclr when used Y.without cover' paneling, ,gives ran :appearance svery .similar to vehicles used with 'the f'flutedcover `paneling, so' that 'cars with andrwithout the fluted .paneling 'may-beuun in one train side by .-side without objectionable `diierences between ftheir appearances.

'With '.the v.above oibjectsizin view, Ythe invention ,provides :a .shear :resisting fpanel or `web in lthe side walls of :a yrailway .car -or similar vehicle which Aisstructurally'connected 4to vehicle posts :of successive `nodes .andiiutes 'being equal ora whole multiple'the one .of theothen Inthe systemiofirnanufacture envisaged bythe iinvention, there-:are providcdaplurality of railway cars of which each is equipped with the de- -scribedshear panel .and some are yprovided in '-additioni with the -flu'dedfcover paneling, the i nodes yoi the .shear panel and `.the `flutes :of VVthe cover -paneling .being :arranged so that their outwardly projecting' portions lineup with eachother giving the cars with: and without thefliutedicoverpanelring fsuohclosevsim-ilarityfof appearance :that only `a vcareful observerat 'close' range will note the diierence.

The above voutlined 'and other "features, objects Aand ladvz-intages of the invention will become more easily understood from the embodiments 'illustratedin the attacheddrawing and described hereinafter.

In the drawing:

'Figure -1 is Ia fragmentary perspective, `partly (Cl. t105---401 sectional, inside `view of the lower portion kof a railway car" body;

Figure T2 isa fragmentary perspective outside view, 'partly' in section, showing a 'shear panel and iiuted paneling attached thereto;

"Figure 3 iis `a fragmentary vertical section through'the shearpanel and theutedpan'eling attachedthereto on a Alarger scale .than Figures 1 and 2; and

Figure '4 is arfragmentary section similar to Figure 3. showing a `second embodiment.

Theproiiles i2 represent'the longitudinal'side sills of a railway car underirame. Securedzto the sills Il! `are the lower marginal sills 'of the body side walls, 'which 'latter sills consist each `of `a Zesectionmember II Vand an outer plane sheet metal strip fI2. Held between 'the rmembers Iii and AVL2 are 'the lower ends 'of posts `or vertical frame `n'xerribers 1.3 which are spaced from each otherin longitudinal direction. Two of such posts may be arranged between successive window openings i4. Along 'the .lower margins of .the window openings the posts'of each sidewall ar'einterconnectedby a chord structureoonsisting mainly oiimembers I5 and Ifand ofan outer ymolding I'I, ltheslatter having 1a downwardly eX- Atending flange 18.' AA 'similar molding Hl con- Jnected Iwith veach of the lower side sills il, I2 'has an rupwardly directed flange 2U and the'outsideaofxeach. underirame sill I@ is `covered by a conveXistrfip 22 I Ashear'panel 22 bridges the space 'between the moldings l'I'Ia'nd `I9 and is arranged on the cutside of the posts i3 and the sill member I2 of each side wall. This vrpanel 'may-consister two for more vseparate 'sheets overlappingly secured to 'each other lthroughouttheir meeting margins at .23, lThe shear. panels 22 have corrugations or inodes 24 whichare relatively narrow `and leave wide `.pleure portions E5 between them. It Ais by lthese wide lplane Aportions or ats v5 'that the tshear panels '122 are structurally secured to 'the 'outsides of the `posts i3 and to the sill members i2.

The marginal nodes 2'4 serve for the strucl'tural 'connection throughout with the ange's I8 fand 52'0 of the lmoldings -I' and IS, respectively. This-'feature now formsthe 'subjectmatter of the inventors application Serial No. 57,796, marginal 1rail for cover strip retaining panes, especially `for railwayc'ar, Vrfiled November 1, 1948, which is VVa continuation-in-partof thepresent application.

While the l:dat portions 25 of the shear panels iperniittheirattachment to the posts I3 and sill members I2` over relativelylarge areas, the nodes 24 stillen the shear panels longitudinally, thereby avoiding the necessity of separate reinforcements on the inside of the panels to prevent shear buckling. Besides, the nodes on the outside give the shear panels a pleasing appearance.

Where moderate increase in cost and weight is permissible, the appearance of the vehicle is further enhanced by the attachment of fluted or other decorative panelings 26 to the outside of the shear panels. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, adjacent flutes 2l have between them narrow flat-bottomed grooves 28 which rest against the top of the anodes 24 of the shear panel and are secured to them, for instance by screws 29. The grooves 28 and the screws 29 Iare covered by molding strips 30 resiliently engaging with their inturned margins clips 3| permanently secured in the grooves 28. The clips 3l are preferably of short length and are distributed over the length of the grooves or channels 28.

Each iluted paneling may consist of a number of separate sheet metal strips which overlap each other in one of the grooves 28 where they lare held together and to the shear panel by the aforesaid screws 29.

The pitch 32 of the flutes of the paneling and the distance 33 between successive nodes of the shear panel are equal, and the nodes and utes are arranged so that the ridges between iadjacent flutes register with the nodes. Instead of making the pitch 32 and the spacing 33 equal, either one might be made an integral multiple of the other.

The outer decorative paneling further stiffens the corrugations of the shear web or panel to resist shear. Its lattachment at the tops of the nodes provides a cushion support as the nodes may deilect transversely without ailecting the function as part of a shear panel. This prevents a concentration of shear deflection from buckling the decorative panel.

Especially from Figure 2 it will be apparent that with the new formation of shear panels and fluted panelings, cars with and without the fluted panelings may be run in one train without giving an objectionable difference in appearance. Indeed, cars with and Without the fluted paneling will look practically alike from a relatively short distance, and many observers will not discover any difference at all. On the other hand, at close range, for instance in a station, the difference will be somewhat visible inasmuch as the cars without the iiuted paneling have their connections with the underlying structure, which may consist in spot welds, exposed in view, and

inasmuch as the shear panel will in most cases have a somewhat coarser nish than the fluted panels, which may be brought to Ka high polish. Consequently, where the increase in cost and weight is acceptable, the cars will be provided with the fluted panelings. If, however, such increase in weight and cost is objectionable, the uted panelings may be omitted, and nevertheless such cars may be run together with the cars having iluted planelings without giving such difference in appearance, such as is nowadays often encountered when streamlined stainless steel or aluminum cars are run together with old painted cars.

The embodiment illustrated in Figure 4 differs from the embodiments of Figures 1 to 3 outstandingly in the arrangement of the attachment zones of the fluted paneling 34 to the underlying shear panel. In this case the attachment zones are arranged at the bottom of certain of the flutes 35. In these zones the fluted paneling is again provided with recessed portions or grooves 36 which have their bottoms screwed to the flat portions 25 between successive nodes 24 of the shear panel. The screws 39' are covered by molding strips 31 held in place by clips 38 of similar construction and arrangement to the clips 3l of the rst embodiment. It will be noted that in the second embodiment each second fluting only is secured to the underlying shear panel.

It may be found preferable not to make the member I9 structural but to fasten it only by occasional rivets through its lower flange and hold its upper flange through engagement behind panel 23. The reason for this is that the molding I9 frequently gets damaged.

Instead of separate clips for the removable moldings, continuous strips may be employed.

An advantage of the second embodiment is that it requires less tnansverse width of the car than the first embodiment.

The construction according to the invention may consist wholly or in part of stainless steel, the different elements being preferably overlappingly secured to each other by electric spot welding, except where a removable connection is specified hereinbefore.

The invention is not restricted to the illustrated and described embodiments, but protection is sought for the invention as covered by the spirit and the language of the attached claims.

What is claimed is:

l. In a vehicle body, a side wall having a pluralty of vertical frame members spaced from each other in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, a longitudinally extending panel on the outside of said members provided on its outside with horizontally arranged nodes, said nodes being spaced from each other in vertical direction a distance greater than their individual widths, said panel being secured by its portions between the nodes to said frame members, fiuted cover paneling having the pitch of the flutes equal to the distance between the nodes of the panel, said paneling being secured along lines between adjoining flutes to the tops of nodes of said panel.

2. A cover for the outside of a vehicle comprising an inner panel having longitudinally extending nodes which are vertically spaced from each other leaving between them wide substantially plane panel portions adapted for attachment to a supporting framework, a second fluted panel having widths of the flutes equal to the spacing of said nodes, said second panel being secured to the outside of the rst panel so that the flutes have their open sides facing away from the inner panel and that said nodes project into raised portions between adjacent flutes of the second panel.

3. A cover for the outside of a vehicle comprising an inner panel having longitudinally extending nodes which are vertically spaced from each other leaving between them wide substantially plane panel portions adapted for attachment to a supporting framework, trim covering provided with longitudinally extending vertically spaced raised portions and having the pitch of the raised portions equal to the spacing of said nodesy said covering being iitted to the outside of the inner panel so that said nodes horizontally align with said raised portions of the outer covering, and said panel and covering being attached to each other along lines midway between successive nodes and raised portions.

4. A railway car having longitudinally extending shear panels secured to the outsides of its side wall frameworks, said panels having longitudinally extending narrow nodes which are vertically spaced from each other leaving between them wide substantially plane panel portions, said car having fluted outer paneling with the pitch of the flutes equal to the spacing of said nodes, said paneling being secured to the outsides of said panels of the car with the nodes arranged on the same horizontal level as the raised portions between adjacent utes, so that the flutes of said car provided with the fluted paneling line up with the nodes of cars provided with identical shear panels but free of such paneling thereby giving a nearly uniform appearance when cars of the last-named type are run together with said first-named car.

5. In a vehicle body, a side wall having a plurality of vertical frame members spaced from each other in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, a longitudinally extending panel on the outside of said members provided on its outside with horizontally arranged nodes, said nodes being spaced from each other in vertical direction a distance greater than their individual widths, said panel being secured by its portions between the nodes to said frame members, and a decorative cover paneling secured to the tops of nodes of said panel.

6. In a vehicle body, a side wall having a plurality of vertical frame members spaced from cach other in the longitudinally direction of the vehicle, a longitudinally extending panel on the outside of said members provided on its outside with horizontally arranged nodes, said nodes being spaced from each other in vertical direction a distance greater than their individual widths, said panel being secured by its portions between the nodes to said frame members, uted cover paneling having the pitch of the utes equal to the distance between the nodes of the panel, said paneling being secured along lines between adjacent utes to the nodes of said panel.

7. A cover for the outside of a vehicle compris ing an inner panel having longitudinally extending nodes which are vertically spaced from each other leaving between them wide substantially plane panel portions adapted for attachment to a supporting framework, trim covering provided with longitudinally extending vertically spaced raised portions and having the pitch of the raised portions equal to the spacing of said nodes, said covering being tted to the outside of the inner panel so that said nodes horizontally align with said raised portions of the outer covering, and said panel and covering being attached to each other along lines paralleling said nodes and raised portions.

ALBERT G. DEAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 96,922 Jackson Nov. 16, 1869 584,709 Schoen June 15, 1897 993,127 Tinsley May 23, 1911 1,496,872 Conwell June l0, 1924 2,150,130 Ragsdale et al Mar. 7, 1939 27,190,334 Nystrom Feb. 13, 1940 2,268,188 Clarke Dec. 30, 1941 2,294,357 Dean et al. Aug. 25, 1942 2,476,451 Murphy et al July 19, 1949 

